White Lilies
by Kiyohime
Summary: OneShot. Shizuru centric. Why did she hate white lilies?


_Er yea, here's a fanfiction and it's mainly about Shizuru. I was rummaging through the pics I had saved in my folder and I saw this one picture of Shizuru that seemed to be at a young age, holding white lilies and holding her father's hand. It appeared to me that she was at a funeral and yeah, this idea for this One Shot came up. I hope you all like it... it's kind of sad.. and I hope it's good and that you all could understand it. But anyway. As for my other stories... my creative streak for them has been lagging, so it might take a little longer for the new chapters to be updated. Sorry!  
_

**White Lilies**

My fingers lingered on the soft petals of white trumpet-shaped flowers placed in a clear glass vase. If anyone were to look at me right now, their lively moods would probably affected by my hollow and empty hues and moroseness etched across my face. In this vase, lies one of the things I really hate. Natsuki had given them to me as an apology for canceling our date since she had to work.

_"Ara... these are really nice..." _

_"Uhmn... you don't sound too thrilled... ah! Don't tell me you don't like flowers!? Wait, you're still mad are you? Shizuru, I'm sorry--"_

_"Ne... I do like flowers..."_

_"...But?"_

_"...I forgive you. We'll always have tomorrow or the weekend anyway."_

I left her with an empty smile and no other words. If I hadn't bit my tongue from blurting out something, it would've been the probable cause of an argument, which I did NOT want to start. I knew the poor girl must be stricken with confusion, but I didn't exactly want to take a stroll down memory lane.

White lilies.

I'll never forget the sight of those sickeningly pure white flowers on a certain day in my past. It was raining that day. I remember the warmth from my father's hand as I held it and in my other arm, a bouquet of white lilies. I never really felt so cold and lost by then, even though I knew I wasn't alone. I was only seven years old by then.

But... I should thank Natsuki, really. She helped me to appreciate these flowers once again freely as I did in the past before that fateful day. How did she help? White lilies symbolized virtue, purity, innocence and the hope of new life. They reminded me of Natsuki. Of how innocent and pure she is. If I hadn't met her, I probably would've never brought myself to appreciate these flowers ever again.

Fortunately, I finished with the paperwork sooner than I thought and Natsuki had to leave for her part-time job... so I had the chance to go somewhere. I took the white lilies with me and headed out to my car. As I got in my car, I carefully placed the white lilies on the vacant seat next to the driver's seat and shut the car.

I knew the shortcut to that place very well... even though it had been a very long time since I last visited there. It was sunny and the sky was completely blue, I was grateful for that. Passing through the entrance of the place, it took me at least five minutes to arrive at my destination and parked the car on the side of the small road. Anxiety attacked me all of sudden and my hands trembled, just slightly. Tears threatened to fall but I refused to allow them. I have done my share of that in the past.

My hands clenched and released couple of times on the steering wheel as I tried to regain my composure. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, I then grabbed the bouquet of white lilies and stepped out of the car. The journey from my car to the plot didn't take long. I slowly approached a huge maple tree, my burgundy hues were fixated on her resting place. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes again as I placed the white lilies on top of the plot. I brought up my finger to trace the wording on the stone tablet in front of me.

_Taki Fujino  
Wife and loving mother  
1958 - 1989  
_

"Hey, Mom... I know it has been a long time since I last saw you. I'm sorry I couldn't come as often... I just still cannot believe you're not here with me and Daddy anymore."

Not being able to hold it back anymore, I let my tears fall down freely, my chest convulsing with every sob that wracked my body.

"I... I brought you something..."

Burgundy hues of mine glanced down at the lilies and I smiled. Just barely. I knew how much my mother loved these flowers. She'd always buy a bouquet of these and put them in a vase to set it in the kitchen on the window sill. I would always spend time with her in the kitchen, baking cookies or playing cards... or making tea.

It didn't take me long to realize why I came to hate the white lilies with a passion. The last time I saw them, my mother gave me a white lily on my seventh birthday and swore on the remaining life in flower that she'd always be my side till the end of my life. But she wasn't. She died a week after my birthday. That was when I saw the flowers as a sign of bad luck, despite what they symbolized. "The hope of a new life..." The mere thought of that made me chuckle bitterly. Nonetheless, like I said, I should thank Natsuki for making me appreciate them once again. I looked at the phrase, "the hope of a new life" with a new meaning. To me, it meant I have a chance to start a new life with Natsuki. A new life filled with happiness.

For a moment there, I could've sworn I felt someone watching over me... someone smiling at me. I turned my gaze upwards to the sky and smiled back.

"I'll thank Natsuki for you too, Mom..."

With that, I stood up, wandered back to my car with a smile on my face. The next day, I bought a bouquet of white lilies and placed them in my kitchen where I spent the remaining of the day with Natsuki, playing cards and drinking tea. That day was filled with laughter and I knew this was just the beginning of a new wonderful life.

-Fin-


End file.
